Introducing the Trailblazing Woman behind Totto-chan
Kodansha USA Throws a Celebration for the Little Girl at the Window
By Alexandra McCullough-Garcia, with editorial assistance by Daniel Joseph and Alvin Lu
The train rocked Totto as it chugged along in the dark, bound for Aomori Prefecture. She could see nothing at all through the window. Totto was perched in the middle of a two-seater bench. At her sides were not her mother, Noriaki-chan, or Mari-chan, however, but a middle-aged man and woman, neither of whom she knew. She was all alone. In her right hand, she clutched the train ticket Mother had given her as well as a note that read: Ueno, Fukushima, Sendai, Morioka, Shiriuchi.
It was the middle of March in the year the war would end.
— from Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window: The Sequel by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, translated by Yuki Tejima
So begins one of the most thrilling chapters from Japanese postwar-cultural icon Tetsuko Kuroyanagi’s recently translated autobiography Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window: The Sequel. The heart-pounding scene picks up exactly where her original, world record-breaking memoir ended, and begins to answer the burning question left in the millions of hearts it captured: What ever happened to Totto-chan?
This year, on November 18, 2025—over four decades after Totto-chan first burst onto the global stage—Kodansha USA brings the world the story of how that little girl became a trailblazing, multifaceted star, internationally renowned philanthropist, celebrated author, and one of the most enduring media presences in Japanese entertainment.
“I am excited to announce that my memoir, Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window: The Sequel, will soon be released in English. It has been forty years in the making, and I put my whole heart and soul into it,” said author Testuko Kuroyanagi. “I hope you enjoy it!”
In celebration of Ms. Kuroyanagi’s career and legacy, Kodansha USA will also host events in New York City around the date of the book’s publication at the Japan Society, the New York Public Library, and Kinokuniya Bookstore (see Event Details below).
A Special Message from Tetsuko Kuroyanagi